Bitcoin Holds Near $88,000 as Range Persists and On‑Chain Stress Deepens

Overview

• BTC traded around $88,000 on Friday after repeated rejections near $88,000–$90,000, with support flagged near $85,400 and the broader month‑long range still roughly $82,000–$95,000.
• Coinglass data showed about $408 million in crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours, and traders noted a pattern of U.S. trading‑hour sell pressure capping attempts to break higher.
• ETF flows stayed inconsistent as U.S. spot Bitcoin funds logged roughly $457 million of net inflows on Dec. 17 but swung to about $161 million of net outflows on Thursday after nearly $3.5 billion in November outflows.
• Short‑term holder stress intensified with the 30‑day STH‑SOPR slipping to 0.98, while chart signals remained bearish, including an inverse cup‑and‑handle setup and price trading below key moving averages.
• Structural pressures persisted with miner financial health near the alert zone around 22% and heavy long‑term holder distribution reported by K33 Research, as Fidelity’s Jurrien Timmer warned 2026 could be a cooling year with potential support in the $65,000–$75,000 area.